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1 Statement of Joseph Y. Yun Acting Assistant Secretary Bureau of East Statement of Joseph Y. Yun Acting Assistant Secretary Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs U.S. Department of State Before the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs April 25, 2013 Rebalance to Asia II: Security and Defense: Cooperation and Challenges Mr. Chairman, Senator Rubio, and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you very much for inviting me here today to testify on this important topic. I would like to thank you for your work to build a bipartisan consensus on the importance of engaging the Asia-Pacific region and advancing U.S. interests there. We value working with you and look forward to continuing to work closely with you and other Members of Congress in the future. United States’ policy toward East Asia and the Pacific reflects the profound recognition that the future prosperity and security of our nation will be defined by events and developments in the region. While our commitments to other regions remain strong, it is also important to recognize just how significant East Asia and the Pacific are to the United States. Home to two-thirds of the world’s population and the world’s fastest growing economies, the Asia-Pacific offers growing opportunities and challenges for U.S. strategic interests. Placing U.S. interests in context, the annual flow of U.S. investment into East Asia has increased from $22.5 billion in 2009 to $41.4 billion in 2011. U.S. exports to the Asia-Pacific totaled over $320 billion in 2012 after growing nearly eight percent since 2008. As the region rapidly grows and transforms, visible, sustained, U.S. commitment is increasingly essential. 1 Our commitment to the Asia-Pacific region is demonstrated in a number of ways, including through security and defense-related cooperation. However, I would like to emphasize that security and defense cooperation is only one part of the policy and to provide you with the larger context of our engagement with the region. Though we continue to face military challenges in the region, non-military issues are critically important to American and East Asian prosperity and security and necessitate a broad diplomatic approach. Although our security and defense commitments remain strong and unequivocal, we must put more emphasis on strengthening our non-military engagement. As our response to recent events in North Korea demonstrates, and as Secretary Kerry emphasized on his recent trip to Beijing, Tokyo, and Seoul, there is no doubt about U.S. military resolve in the region when it comes to threatening behavior. Indeed, our allies and partners continue to tell us that our clear and visible military presence is reassuring to them and contributes to the stability of the region. But what they also tell us is that, as we deepen our military engagement, we should continue also to emphasize the diplomatic, development, economic, and people-to- people engagement in order to demonstrate our longer-term commitment to our rebalance strategy. To be sure, there are those in the region who have doubts about our ability to sustain our high level of engagement, particularly in the current fiscal environment. But we continue to reassure them that our commitment is strong and enduring, because, as a Pacific nation, the United States’ prosperity and security are inherently tied to the region. To date we have demonstrated our commitment through intensive engagement at every level, including interacting with our regional partners at the highest levels. Last year, that high-level engagement included 35 bilateral meetings, six trilateral meetings, 32 multilateral meetings, and numerous strategic dialogues. The result of these engagements was progress on trade agreements, closer coordination on law enforcement and counter-terrorism initiatives, and advancing anti-human trafficking measures, and other efforts to advance good governance, democracy and human rights in the region. And we will continue to press forward this year. In June, Secretary Kerry will participate in the ASEAN Regional Forum ministerial meetings in Brunei, demonstrating U.S. commitment to the region and support for strengthened regional institutions. At the fifth meeting of the U.S.- China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) in Washington in July, Secretary Kerry and Treasury Secretary Lew will be joined by their Chinese counterparts for a discussion of challenges and opportunities on a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues. In October, President Obama will attend the APEC Summit in Bali, 2 his third East Asia Summit in Brunei, and the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Kuala Lumpur, all of which showcase our commitment to comprehensive regional engagement. Our cooperation with the region is not limited to top-level engagement. It also extends to ordinary citizens, including young people. Public diplomacy initiatives, such as educational and cultural exchange programs with citizens from across the Asia-Pacific region, are increasing grass-roots support for partnering with the United States. In addition, we are utilizing new outreach platforms such as social media and the innovative American cultural spaces in Rangoon and Jakarta, to reach younger audiences, highlight the multi-dimensional nature of U.S. foreign policy, and foster direct and long-term relationships with broader and more diverse populations. Our Asia-Pacific policy is multifaceted. Security takes a number of forms and should not be defined or characterized solely by our military engagement. Here are the key areas of our focus: Asia’s future stability and security are linked to its prosperity and economic development. We are boosting U.S. trade in the region, increasing investment flows, and deepening economic integration, all of which will benefit U.S. businesses and help create jobs here at home, while also creating improved and more inclusive development outcomes in the region itself. Inward investment accounts for over two million American manufacturing jobs, a number we are working to increase. Similarly, exports generate over 10 million jobs for American workers. Asia’s prosperity is America’s prosperity, and we will continue our work to secure markets for U.S. goods and services and welcome tourists, students, and investors to our shores. Establishment of the he Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement with 11 partners will be one of the cornerstones of our “rebalance” toward the Asia-Pacific. Our promotion, through the TPP, APEC and elsewhere, of a regional economic architecture in which the rules are open, transparent, free, and fair helps U.S. businesses gain access to this dynamic region and further integrate the regional economy under a set of high-standard trade and investment rules. Meanwhile, State Department missions in the field are stepping up their commercial promotion efforts to supplement the Commerce Department’s mission to promote exports, tourism, education, and investment opportunities within the United States. We are also engaging with an emerging and growing regional architecture of robust regional institutions and multilateral agreements that result in a more 3 positive political and economic environment for the United States and strengthen regional stability, security, and economic growth. Multilateral institutions are positioning themselves to better handle territorial and maritime disputes such as in the South China Sea. Through engagement with multilateral structures such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), we are able to encourage a peaceful resolution of contentious transnational issues and discourage escalation of tensions. By developing our relationships with partners and emerging leaders, and deepening cooperation across the region, we are strengthening U.S. national security, promoting economic growth and trade, and creating a better platform from which to tackle transnational challenges such as terrorism, organized crime, and trafficking. This kind of cooperation very much includes China. We want China and the countries of the region to partner not only with us, but with each other and multilaterally so that we can deal with shared challenges like cyber security, climate change, and North Korea, which were significant points of discussion with the Chinese on Secretary Kerry’s most recent trip. At the heart of our efforts to contribute to a peaceful, prosperous, secure, and stable region is a desire to expand democratic development and human rights. Our commitment to advancing freedom, democracy, and the rule of law has manifested itself in our steadfast support for reform and opening in Burma, where positive developments on a range of concerns of the international community have allowed us to open a new chapter in bilateral relations. However, there is still a great deal to be done, for example in terms of the widespread abuses targeting Muslims, including ethnic Rohingya. We will continue to press for improvements with governments that fall short on human rights and democracy issues while supporting those promoting the values we share. We work closely with key allies and partners to find ways to support the return of democracy, rule of law, and respect for human rights standards to Fiji. So, as we deepen our traditional security ties and build on our alliances to deter and defend against military and non-military threats to the United States and the region, we will continue to seek peaceful resolution of disputes and confront emerging challenges that could harm U.S. national security interests. We will do so in a way that engages our partners, helps build multilateral cooperation and solutions, encourages economic growth and prosperity, and promotes democratic development and human rights. Each element of our engagement strategy is 4 mutually reinforcing. And thus far, Asian states have warmly welcomed our efforts. Of course, the stability that has enabled the Asia-Pacific’s remarkable economic growth over the past decade has long been upheld by the U.S. military. And we are seeking to ensure that our military activities, force posture, and presence enable us to improve our cooperation with our allies and partners and respond to current as well as emerging security challenges and threats.
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